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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26772208">Listen And Maybe You'll Learn</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/intergalxtic/pseuds/intergalxtic'>intergalxtic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Firebringer - Team StarKid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>?? - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Light Angst, Love Confessions, i never get tired of this scene, still somewhat canon compliant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:00:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,568</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26772208</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/intergalxtic/pseuds/intergalxtic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zazzalil is chosen for the task of bringing back Jemilla, not without some difficulty.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jemilla/Zazzalil (Firebringer)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Listen And Maybe You'll Learn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Try not to come back without her.” </p>
<p>Those were the angry last words out of Emberly’s mouth before hastily slamming the front door in Zazzalil’s face. Without Jemilla’s endless rule system, the household has become chaos, and even almost burnt down due to their negligence. Of course all of this was blamed on Zazzalil and ultimately, she has been dubbed the chosen one, meaning the one to coax Jemilla into returning.</p>
<p>Zazzalil doesn’t know whether she had meant to kick her out. Perhaps it was a part of her “denial”, as Keeri had told her. </p>
<p>She stares at the address scrawled onto her hand. <em> Floor 5, apartment b, 23 Smith Street </em>, or Jemilla’s new place. God, she’d been gone for two months without more than a word. One time, Emberly came running up to Zazzalil, swearing she had seen her at a club the household had gone to. She didn’t take her word for it, mostly because they had all been blackout-drunk.</p>
<p>The apartment complex is tall and grey, much too bland for Zazzalil to consider it liveable, the inside is much the same. Pearly white walls line with various paintings of the beach, pink flowers in the corner of the foyer. There is no-one at the front desk, so she decides to head straight up.</p>
<p>Turns out, the elevator doesn’t work, and the stairs are steep. She huffs her way to the stairwell, regretting her choice of shoes. Brand new, stiff, and not at all suited for the hike up the concrete steps. </p>
<p>She should have planned a speech, she realises as she reaches the fifth floor. <em> This will definitely go perfectly now! Goddamnit. </em> Scolding herself won’t do her any good, though. The door is intimidating, not used to feeling so self-conscious. Taking a final deep breath, she knocks.</p>
<p>The door half-opens, revealing a man. <em>An adonis</em>, Zazzalil thinks, before composing herself.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I must have the wrong address…” Zazzalil frowns at the writing. <em>Probably shouldn't have trusted Ducker with this.</em></p>
<p>“Maybe I can help, who are you looking for?” He says calmly, leaning on the frame.</p>
<p>“I’m looking for someone called Jemilla,”</p>
<p>“Oh, then you’re in the right place.” Without hesitation, he grabs Zazzalil by the hand, and pulls her inside. </p>
<p>“What? Where are you taking me?” She exclaims, yanking her hand back once she’s in, taking in her surroundings. Even more decorations are littered along the walls, but instead of scenery, it’s pictures of people. Events and gatherings, she supposes. One frame in particular catches her eye, she’s seen it. She is <em> in </em> it, along with the others. In the photo, Jemilla has her arms around Schwoopsie and SB, who stands next to Ducker. Emberly, Tiblyn and Grunt are squatting in front of them and laughing at Keeri, who had fallen on the ground, Zazz helping her up. </p>
<p>She remembers this day extremely well. It was the day Keeri and Zazz had moved in, a little over a year ago. They had thrown a small house-warming party, getting tipsy off wine coolers, telling funny stories that will no doubt be repeated with each get-together. Emberly was the one who suggested taking the photo, it used to sit on the mantle near the TV. Now, it sits on the wall of some stranger's house. </p>
<p>“She’s coming out now,” The man says, refocusing Zazzalil’s attention.</p>
<p>“Clark? Who are you talking to?” Jemilla steps out of the hallway, dressed in black leggings and white tank top, a water bottle in hand. Ready for a workout, she supposes. “Claire needs some help putting away some stuff,”</p>
<p>“Someone is here to see you,” He gestures to Zazzalil, then disappears, likely to whoever Jemilla was talking about. </p>
<p>“Who…” Jemilla rotates, her half-smile dropping when she sees her. “What do you want?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jemilla isn’t expecting this. Not this soon, anyway, she isn’t ready. When she spotted them at the club, she had panicked, despite the several drinks she had to loosen her up. It’s why Clark and Claire had forced her out in the first place, to get her mind off them, specifically Zazzalil. How she hates her, how she is reckless and doesn’t care for anything, how terrible she is at reading the signs. Speaking of…</p>
<p>“What are you doing here?” Zazzalil tightly crosses her arms over her chest. </p>
<p>“I live here.” Jemilla states simply, unable to tell if she is relieved or annoyed at her presence. “Why are you here? Did you burn down the house?”</p>
<p>“Almost.”</p>
<p>“Yes!” A smug look fell over her face, pride filling her chest. </p>
<p>“But I’ve learnt my lesson! We all have! So you can come back and fix everything-”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Zazzalil, but I’m not coming back.” Jemilla pokes her shoulder as she waltzes past, closer to the door. </p>
<p>“But… but we’re a family!” Zazzalil quotes SB, but no avail. They don’t touch her heart, not anymore. Or she pretends it doesn’t.</p>
<p>“I have a new family now. Do you see the people I live with? They treat me with respect, and don’t take me for granted.” She boasts, feeling her head start to ache. “Not only that, but they are also really hot, with <em> stable </em> jobs. Why would I leave this...” Jemilla gestures around the tidy space. Not a speck of dust in sight, not a single stray paper anywhere. How she likes it. Except, it feels rather empty.</p>
<p> “...to come back to a house full of… no offence, idiots?”</p>
<p>“Because…” Zazzalil drops her arms in defeat, a hint of desperation in her voice. It almost reminds Jemilla of her own voice when she was kicked out, lost in doubt. Something is different though, the lack of false confidence makes her sound vulnerable. <em> Uh oh. </em></p>
<p>“No thanks.” She says bluntly, giving a half shrug and gripping onto the door handle with her free hand. </p>
<p>“No, please don’t walk away!” Zazzalil reaches out to her, trying to turn her around. “I love you.”</p>
<p>This stops Jemilla dead in her tracks. What? This can’t be true. This isn’t true, she’s just saying that to get her to come back. What she thought was hatred drained from her, allowing the room for real feelings to resurface. Tears sting in her eyes, blinking them back as she whips around to face Zazzalil again.</p>
<p>“Erm, no.” She scoffs sadly, but as their eyes meet, something in them tells her that may be telling the truth.</p>
<p>“Please, Genuinely.” Her voice wobbles, choking back a sob. Jemilla can’t get in more than her name before she starts talking again. “Listen, I’m a shithead, alright?”</p>
<p>The words alone are enough to change her heart, or break it, she can’t tell.</p>
<p>“All I wanted to do was make life better, and have some fun, but I didn’t think! I never think about anything, I just go for it. A-and when it goes wrong, I ignore it.” She sobs, her hand up to her forehead, lifting the flyaways away from her glasses eyes. “So everything just goes crazy, and I don’t know how to fix it. You’re the one who does that. You’re the glue.”</p>
<p>They sink into silence as Jemilla searches her scrambled mind for the right words. </p>
<p>“Sometimes crazy is good too. It can be fun and even relaxing sometimes. But there needs to be a balance.” She replies after some time, Zazzalil snaps her head up. “I will admit I went a bit crazy on the rules, but you need to understand that they don’t come from a bad place. It’s because I care.” </p>
<p>“Sure,” Zazzalil shakes her head. Jemilla bites her lip, knowing what she has to do. A pain punches her in the chest, a knot tying in her throat. </p>
<p>“Clark? Claire?” She calls out, and they quickly emerge, concern written on their faces.</p>
<p>“What’s up, J?” Claire coos, pressing her palm to Jemilla’s cheek. She would normally indulge in it, not today.</p>
<p>“You guys are amazing, and I’m so grateful for what you’ve done for me, but I have to move back in with the others.” She sniffles. “I’m sorry, I hope you understand, I’ll pack my stuff as fast as I can.”</p>
<p>“It’s okay. We understand.” Claire says, looping her arm around Clark. </p>
<p>“I knew you would. Thank you for everything.” Jemilla places a peck on both of their cheeks, smiling softly. </p>
<p>“No problem.” Clark nods subtly, then leads Claire away, mumbling something along the lines of <em> “giving them privacy” </em></p>
<p>Jemilla is no longer able to fight the waterfalls that spill from her eyes, wiping them off her red face. She faces Zazzalil, who gapes at her.</p>
<p>“Thanks for giving all this up to come back,” She whispers, not breaking eye contact. The air is thick and hard to breathe, they push through. </p>
<p>“It’s okay. Remember when you said ‘I love you’?” Jemilla asks, shuffling closer. </p>
<p>“Yeah?”</p>
<p>“I love you too.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jemilla is welcomed back to the house with open arms, it feels good to be back home. Emberly cooks up a storm, so much that there are likely days worth of leftovers. SB and Ducker help her re-set up her room, not without plenty of laughter and jokes. Schwoopsie and Tiblyn catch her up on the drama and the whole story over a cup of hot chocolate, Grunt occasionally chiming in. Everything is normal again.</p>
<p>However her favourite part about coming back, is finally transforming her dream of being with Zazzalil, into a reality.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i hope you enjoyed!!</p>
<p>i literally love writing this scene so much. like. woah.</p>
<p>please leave kudos and a comment, feel free to follow my tumblr (same username)</p>
<p>thank you so much:D</p>
<p>p.s i also have a few more ideas for this little AU so let me know how you feel about it/if you would like to see them at some point!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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